Red Bull's Max Verstappen has had a stellar season so far and is expected to finish third in the Drivers' Championship.

However, this season and, seemingly for the past six seasons, Lewis Hamilton has remained at the throne of F1. 

Verstappen believes that the man who could replace the king of F1 and challenge Hamilton is 38-year-old Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard is currently without a team after retiring from the sport, but Verstappen has his beliefs that Alonso could have what it takes and wants him to make a dramatic comeback.

“I think that if Alonso came back in one of the cars at the front of the grid, he would be one of the main candidates to win the title," Verstappen told Auto Bild, as per The Express

He continued: “Sometimes it’s the driver, but sometimes it’s bad luck.

“Look, Fernando, he is one of the best, but has been in the wrong team lately.”

Alonso was last seen racing for McLaren, who have been considered a mid-table team for some time. Furthermore, Carlos Sainz recently put an end to their five-year absence from the podium as the McLaren driver recently finished third in Brazil.

The Spanish driver is a two-time world champion, winning back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. However, despite not winning a Drivers' World Championship in 13 years and the driver approaching 40-years-old, Verstappen is still confident in his abilities.

“For me, Fernando is one of the best and it’s a pity that I could not race against him because when we raced each other on the same tracks in recent years, he did not have a competitive car.”

He later added: "We are in a sport in which you depend so much on the machinery, and where the differences are not so much in the driver, but rather in the car you have.”

Verstappen clearly sees Alonso as the man to dethrone Hamilton, but considering he retired from the sport last year, it's probably a long shot.

However, as they say in sport, never say never.